Amusement device



G. W. SM UTZ.

AMUSEMENT oz'vxca. APPLICATION FILED OCT- 8, I921.

' 1,420,225. I Patented June 20, 1922,

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- I FIGURE 1 v BY mronnsv INVENTOR a. 'w. SMUTZ. AMUSEMENT DEVICE. v AFPILICATION FILED OCT- 8,}921.

I Patanted June 20, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- FIGURE 2 mysmbn yrjn UNITED STATS PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W SMUTZ, or sen Jose, (innrromvra AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

' Application filed October 8, 1921. Serial No. 506,416.

fication.

It is the ob ect of this invention to provide a device that may be set in motion by overbalancing a revoluble member, and continued in motion for atime by utilizing the energy developed by the overbalancing of the revoluble member to prolong" the unstable equilibrium thereof, i

In the drawing,' v e v Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 8 is a side-- elevation of one of the main driving gears.

Figure 4 is a plan view at 4-4 in Figure 1. Figure 5 is' a section on 5-5 of Figure 1. Referring more particularly to the drawing,jl indicates afoundation and 2 a pit formed therein. Arranged on foundation 1 are bearings 33 supporting a shaft 4 which carries a pair of spaced parallel wheels 5 -5. I-Vheels 5 5 are connected by a plurality of annular. rows of inclined tubes as 6 and 7, the annular rows 6 being inclined in one direction andthe rows 7 being inclined in the opposite direction; Each row of'tubes 6 is closed at one end, the closed ends of one row being opposite to the closed ends of the other row 7. i V

In Figure 2 the two halves of the device so far described are designated by the letters A and B separated by center line CC, the center line of the device on the front elevation being indicated at D-D in Figure 1. Since the two sides of center line DD are exactly similar in construction and operation but one will be described in detail.

The corresponding tubes of the several rows are radially arranged as shown. If, now, steel balls 8 are inserted simultaneously in the uppermost tubes in rows 6 and the uppermost tubes in rows 7, the balls will roll to the ends of their respective tubes and by their weight overbalance the wheels 5- 5 and cause them to revolve say in'the direction indicated by the arrow. When the wheels 55 have described slightly more than onehalf a revolution the angles of all of the tubes 6-7 above referred to as having balls placed therein, are reversed so that the balls are discharged therefrom through the same openings in which they were inserted.

If, now, balls are simultaneously inserted in all of the tubes 6-7 as they register successively with given points just past the vertical plane C-C and at the top of the wheels 5-5, and these balls are simultaneously discharged as the tubes register successively with given points! near the plane C-G at the bottom of wheels 5-5, the weight of all of the balls being on one side of the wheels the same will be kept revolving. p V 7 The balls 8 may be transferred from the points of discharge of tubes 6 and '7 to the we have provided the following mechanism for accomplishing this result.

A' shaft 9 in bearing 10 carries a small spur gear 11- meshing with gear 12 on Wheels 5. On shaft 9 is a bevel gear 13 meshing with a pinion 14: on shaft 15 operating .in bearing 16 and carrying a horizontal bevel gear 17 Gear 17 meshes with a pinion '18 on shaft 19 operating in bearing 20 and carrying a number of sprockets 21, the number of sprockets 21 corresponding to the number of rows of tubes 6. Each sprocket 21 has a chain 22 mounted thereon andover an idler sprocket 23, and carries two forks as at'2l.25,. A chute 26 is provided at-the point of discharge of tubes 6 and operatively arranged with relation to chain 22 whereby a fork 24 or 25 passing through the chute will pick up a ball 8 therein. Another chute Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 11116 20, 1922.

receiving points thereof in many ways, but

as 27 is arranged at the upper end of chain 22 to receive a ball discharged from forks 2&25 and pass it into the first tube 6 passing thereby.

The gear ratios of the several parts are such that chain 22 makes one-half a revolution while wheel 5 revolves sufficiently to remove one tube 6 from registration with chute 26 and brings another tube into registration therewith. By means of this construction balls are automatically fed into the top of the wheels 55 at the same rate of speed that they are discharged from the bottom thereof and the wheels '55 kept rotating. I

A governor for the device is provided as follows. A pinion is shown at 28 meshing with gear 13 and carried by a crank shaft 29 in bearings 30. On crank shaft 29 is mounted a piston 31 operating in a cylinder 32 to force air through a ball valve 33 into It is to be understood that while I have herein shown and described one particular embodiment of my invention, changes in form, proportions, construction, and method of operation may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An amusement device comprising a pair of spaced, parallel and revoluble wheels, and a plurality of annular rows of tubes connecting said wheels, the tubes in each row being parallel, equally spaced, open at one end and closed at the other end, and angularly arranged with relation to a diametral plane passing through the device but the angularity of alternate rows being opposite in direction and equal in degree.

2. An amusement device comprising a pair of spaced, parallel and revoluble wheels, and ajplurality of annular rows of radially arranged tubes connecting said wheels,the tubes in eachrow being parallel, equally spaced, open at one end and closed at the other end, and angularly arranged with relation to a diametral plane passing through the device but the angularity of the alternate rows being opposite in direction and equal in degree.

3. An amusement device comprising a pair of spaced, parallel and revoluble wheels, and a plurality of annular rows of radially arranged tubes connecting said wheels, the tubes in each row being parallel, equally spaced, open at one end and closed at the other end, and angularly arranged with relation to a diametral plane passing through the device but the angularity of the alternate rows being opposite in direction and equal-in degree, a plurality of balls of less diameter than said tubes, and means for simultaneously inserting one ball in each of the uppermost radially arranged tubes.

4. An amusement device comprising a pair of spaced, parallel and revoluble wheels, and a plurality of annular rows of radially arranged tubes connecting said wheels, the tubes in each row being parallel, equally spaced, open at one end and closed at the other end, and angularly arranged with relation to a diametral plane passing through the device, but the angularity of the alternate rows being opposite in direction and equal in degree, a plurality of balls of less diameter than said tubes, means for simultaneously inserting a ball in each of the up- I permost radially arranged tubes, and means for simultaneously removing the balls from the lowermost radially arranged tubes.

5. An amusement device comprising a pair of spaced, parallel and revoluble Wheels, and a plurality of annular rows of radially arranged tubes connecting said wheels, the tubes in each row being parallel, equally spaced, open at one end and closed at the other end, and angularly arranged with re lation to a diametral plane passing through the device but the angularity of the alternate rows being opposite in direction and equal in degree, a plurality of balls of less diameter than said tubes, means for simultaneously inserting one ball in each row of tubes when passing through the upper portion of its path of travel, and means for simultaneously removing one ball from each row of tubes when passing through the lower portion of its path of travel.

6. An amusement device comprising a pair of spaced, parallel and revoluble wheels, and

a plurality of annular rows of radially arranged tubes connecting said wheels, the tubes in each row being parallel, equally spaced, open at one end and closed at the other end, and angularly arranged with relation to a diametral plane passing through the device, but the angularity of the alternate rows being opposite in direction and equal in degree, a plurality of balls of less diameter than said tubes, each of said wheels having a geared perimeter, a pinion engagmg said gear, a second gear driven by said pinion, a second pinion driven by said second gear, a third gear driven by said second pinion, a third pinion driven by said third gear, a sprocket driven by said third pinion, a tooth carrying chain mounted on said sprocket, means for delivering each ball discharged from a tube into the path of travel of said chain, and means for conducting each ball discharged by said toothed chain to one of said tubes.

GEO. WV. SMUTZ. 

